So I did the deed. Called iQ Academy and withdrew B12...went in to the public middle school and registered him for 7th grade. We picked his electives, and he was assigned a homeroom teacher and a "house" or team of kids he'll be stuck with for all his classes. Fortunately, it was the same house of the friend he shadowed a week ago, so he'd already started making some friends there. The schoolbus driver will expect him on Monday morning.
I took him out for brunch on Friday, and we had a nice long talk about "things we want to talk about." We covered books he's reading (Ender's Game) and might want to read (The Dragonriders of Pern series), and what he likes about video games (the strategy, and the mythology and lore behind World of Warcraft characters), and soccer (strategy, and running around with friends). I ask whether he's nervous about starting school, and he's philosophical: "I figure it will be awkward being the new kid for the first few days, and then, probably by the second week or so, it will be fine." I didn't know that he had changed his life's ambition to working for Apple (well, he hasn't entirely lost interest in working for the FBI or CIA) or that currently his favorite thing to learn about is computers. History is his favorite academic subject, because "there is always something new to read about." We laughed at that, history being new, but always old. We talked about choosing friends wisely, and thinking critically about what he heard at school. We talked about piano lessons, and how it's not that fun anymore. I promised him that every piano student goes through a period where it's more work than fun, and then the work pays off and it starts to get fun again. Hang in there, I told him. But mostly, I listened. He's such a cut-up at home--it's hard to get two serious words in a row out of him.
We went shopping for clothes. As you may have observed in photos, B12 is not a fan of clothing and usually wears silky gym shorts--and nothing else--24/7, four seasons a year. He loves his faux silk sheets and if he's cold, he wraps up in a faux fur blanket. He's bothered by tags and scratchiness and probably has a mild sensory integration issue that he's either outgrowing or learning to tolerate, because of course he wears clothes when he has to. I rarely buy clothes for him, since he has drawers of cool hand-me-downs from B16 that he never wears. But he was asking for a couple more pairs of jeans and a couple hoodies to start school with, and I was delighted to oblige. He won't wear winter coats, either--can't stand the "fatness" of them--but he'll layer hoodies.
For supplies, he has a backpack and a calculator already, and we have a stockpile of spiral notebooks, folders and mechanical pencils he can choose from. He's been practicing with the combination lock the school gave him. I think he's ready.
I'm ready too, I think...and not. It's going to be weird to have just B16 at home. (Well, B21 is home too, but he's not a student.) I caught up with Ann Kennedy's blog this morning and I remember so well those days with all six underfoot and trying to fit in lessons every day along with the laundry and the grocery shopping and keeping the kitchen in usable shape, and I wonder how I did it? Because I can't fathom it right now. I just can't.
So much changed when we moved, and my stress levels increased phenomenally in so many other areas of my life, that it just became clear that outsourcing my kids' education, for a time, at least, was the right thing for me and for my family. These days, my husband and my kids need me to be "wife" and "mom" more than they need me to be "teacher." (Well, except for B16, who desperately needs me to be "geometry tutor" too.)
I still believe mightily in homeschooling and its benefits. Although I think B12, C8 and B6 will go back to public school next year, I still see them returning to homeschooling sometime in the future. In fact, I've always thought that an ideal schedule might be to send kids to a classroom for the first few years of elementary school, while it's fun and everyone is nice and there are lots of enrichment opportunities like gym, art, music and recess. I've never really enjoyed teaching the basics of reading, writing and math anyway. After they know the basics and the school routine is getting tiresome and not fun anymore, then let's switch to homeschooling and let them follow their interests and read and write stories all day long if they want to, for a few years before they have to get serious again in high school. I'm still figuring out what works best for high school, I admit. The virtual school option is working out well for B16, this year, but I think a once-a-week classroom setting with other homeschoolers--which I had for Blondechick back in IL, for 9th grade--would be better. Maybe by the time C8 and B6 are in high school, I'll be ready to launch it. (Not kidding--I think I might, someday, if it doesn't come into existence without me.)
I guess I'm saying I still feel like a homeschooling mom inside, even though I just can't do it right now. At least they are letting me teach drama classes at our theater group! That is satisfying my teaching itch for now.
So, B12's new adventure begins Monday. And mine too, it feels like, though I'm not sure why.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
News Bits
Speaking of B21,whose birthday was on Saturday--this young man has lost 50 pounds since last May! It's the 50 pounds he put on while he was away at a college last year. Since he's been home, we've been helping make sure that he exercises daily, either biking (10 miles) when the weather is nice, or run-walking on the treadmill (5 miles) when it's been cold. He's also eating a minimum quantity of food--eggs and rice cereal for breakfast, an apple or a banana for lunch, and a quesadilla around 4 to hold him till dinner. No seconds, no dessert, and lots of praise from his family as we've seen the pound drop off, slowly but surely. Best of all, he seems to have his secret compulsive snacking under control, which should help him keep it off.
He just hit a milestone. He now weighs just under 200, which is less than his college-entry weight of 202ish. We have promised him an Xbox 360 if he gets down to 160. Without a job, he has little to no spending money, so he's very motivated to earn his reward this way! I guess it's the silver lining to his unemployment situation.
Things are moving slowly with the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. He has a caseworker there who is working on finding him a job, but it's a slow process. He had an interview at an area hospital for a housekeeping position, thanks to a friend who referred him, but he heard back from them recently that they are "pursuing other candidates," which was disappointing. Thank you for your prayers for him!
In educational news, B12 and I visited the public middle school on Friday and liked what we saw. He shadowed a friend for four hours, and he knew what was going on in each class, and he felt good about the teachers and the kids. He's happy about the idea of trying it for the rest of this year.
I still feel ambivalent about sending him there, but we had another rough week in virtual school, when all final tests and projects were due, and it seemed like further confirmation that he needs a change. When I pray about what he needs, I keep seeing a classroom, and as I shared before, it seems this is the classroom God is leading us toward, for now. He wouldn't start until next Monday, so I don't feel rushed to submit the paperwork, but on the other hand, the virtual school's new semester starts tomorrow, so that's a decision right there, if he doesn't begin.
On the church front, we had a Holy Week planning meeting on Saturday. Woo hooooo! This year, I am going to have a partner to help plan and execute the readings for the week, especially the Passion reading on Palm Sunday, and the readings at Easter Vigil. I am so thankful for the energy and creativity of JT, a percussionist, artist, sound tech and Easter Vigil coordinator extraordinaire, who moved up here from our old church. We just had a house blessing service in their new home (although it was months ago that they arrived--but what better season for a house blessing than Epiphany?). We just installed his wife, LT, on our vestry, and we are sooooo grateful for them!
Also, something is percolating about a youth group for our middle schoolers who are, like dominoes, all about to begin turning 13. The vision and the leadership are not fully formed yet, and it probably won't really get off the ground until next fall, but it's exciting to see God working!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Twenty-First Birthday
Twenty-one years ago today, our lives were changed forever.
B21, you broke us in as parents. We had no idea what we were doing, but our hearts were all yours, from the very beginning.
And you've possessed our hearts ever since.
You have brought us such joy. What a privilege to watch you grow from boy to man. You have traveled your own road and marched to your own drummer's beat the whole way. Looking on, we have delighted in the uniqueness of you.
Your path continues to be a unique one. What God has in store for the next twenty-one years, none of us know.
But we know He journeys with you on that road.
Happy Twenty-First Birthday, firstborn. Trust Him always.
B21, you broke us in as parents. We had no idea what we were doing, but our hearts were all yours, from the very beginning.
And you've possessed our hearts ever since.
You have brought us such joy. What a privilege to watch you grow from boy to man. You have traveled your own road and marched to your own drummer's beat the whole way. Looking on, we have delighted in the uniqueness of you.
Your path continues to be a unique one. What God has in store for the next twenty-one years, none of us know.
But we know He journeys with you on that road.
Happy Twenty-First Birthday, firstborn. Trust Him always.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will direct your path.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
Friday, January 20, 2012
Says the Man Who Says
I think I've mentioned that B16 is in a band.
He's in two bands, actually.
His indie/acoustic band is just him and a girl that he's known since infancy. She lives back in IL, where we moved from, but she and B16 see each other about once a month, because her dad drives up regularly to assist at our church. (He's an Anglican priest and a worship leader/guitarist.) They sing in close harmony and they've written half a dozen songs together that they hope to record together this summer.
His other band is a Christian screamo band. If you're interested, there's a Wikipedia article all about the history and derivations of this genre. I found this quote to be the most helpful:
It came to be that the soft/loud dynamic of having either one or two singers who alternate between passionate singing and distraught shrieking that characterizes most screamo. These vocals are often layered or appear side-by-side amid aggressive, hard-hitting guitar licks used to trigger an exhaustive, emotional catharsis. Though the music is outwardly tough and powerful, the lyrics are usually of the introspective kind found in softer emo bands.
This is a great description of what's going on in the song that B16's band just recorded, which you can listen to below. B16 sings the lead vocals, and another friend in the band does the "screaming" (which he's received training on how to do without harming his voice). Though the screaming is an ugly sound, the contrast between it and B16's vocals is really interesting, you'll have to admit. B16 sounds so earnest and heroic in comparison.
The other band members are friends from the Christian high school he went to last year, and they've been influenced heavily by Christian screamo bands like Family Force Five, August Burns Red, As I Lay Dying, We Came as Romans, Blessthefall, Underoath and Descend to Rise. It's not beautiful music, to my ears, but the lyrics are worthwhile and encouraging to these boys, so we're not complaining (much).
And band practice is a good place for them to be on the weekends. They've learned so much from playing together, and writing a song together, and now from the recording process, which was far more time-consuming than they would have guessed. It took nearly two months to lay down all the different tracks, including having to re-record some of them, and B16 had to go in numerous times both for vocals and separately for his guitar part. (He plays electric guitar with this band, acoustic guitar with his other band.) One of the band member's dads was able to work out a deal at a friend's recording studio, and he generously paid the fee so that they could have this experience.
Next step: They want to be more than just a studio band, they want to play in front of actual audiences! They've performed once, at a band member's youth group, the one song they have. So they need to write some more songs and learn "covers" (playing other bands' songs), so they'll have more of a repertoire to play out at gigs.
Who knows how far they'll go? Nobody really cares, at this point--well, maybe a few of the band members--but mostly, they and their parents are just excited about the experience they're getting and the hard work they are putting in!
They're good kids.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Dilemma
Over the years, I have announced many educational decisions here on this blog: We have been homeschooling, but now we're putting this kid in public school; now we're pulling that one out, sending this one to private school, and doing the virtual school with this other one.
I suppose I could worry about consistency and gaps in our kids' education, but I prefer to think that responding to their needs each year--even each semester--is more important than thoroughness. Especially when I quiz them on things we learned three years ago--memorable things like big projects and field trips--and discover that they barely recall them. So much for thoroughness! Their minds retain the most-used skills and information, plus whatever random facts and experiences stick. I think providing an environment rich in learning opportunities is something I strive for more than consistency.
We're at another of these crossroads, now, where I feel that something is not working anymore for one of our kids. Usually, I feel a pretty strong sense of what they need, and that intuition seems to come through prayer, accompanied by a sense of peace about the decision. Papa R has always been very supportive of me and of homeschooling, and he tends to prefer it for our kids, but when I feel it's not working for some reason, he listens and prays with me about other options.
I am grateful that we have such a variety of options to consider, but this time, I'm really having trouble discerning what is best for B12, in 7th grade. He'll be B13 in a month. He's enrolled in iQ Academy, a virtual school here in Wisconsin, which worked really well for him last year. It was just the right amount of challenge--more and bigger assignments that required more writing and critical thinking than he was used to--yet they weren't overwhelming, and the teachers were pretty easy on the grading.
I thought this year would be a piece of cake for him, now that he knew how it worked; plus this year he has the companionship of B16, who's enrolled in the same program, in the 10th grade. B16 is doing fine with it, but B12 is really struggling with motivation and focus. One assignment can take him all day, or two days. He lets himself get distracted very easily--nothing new, for him--but it's also as if his engine is idling and just can't accelerate when he needs it to. He's kind of mopey. Nothing seems to motivate him. He hasn't been allowed to see his friends for weeks, because every weekend, he still has homework left over from the week. He started guessing his way through the multiple choice assignments, I discovered, rather than looking up the information. So half the time, he's just not learning anything.
He's much more motivated if I sit with him and we work together; but that's not something I have time for every day! I'm committed to doing his math with him--and geometry with B16--because math is the subject they get the most frustrated, confused and lost in. But it's my least-favorite subject, and too much math just fritters away at my sense of contentment and well-being, and then I need a break to go do a refreshing load of laundry, or some errands, to ease the anxiety about all that I'm not accomplishing while I sit and do math. Social studies or science assignments do not have the same easing effect for me, especially when they tend to be time-consuming, and I have to hold myself back from writing the dang essay for him, just to get it over with. But they are the ones that take him soooo long.
So what to do with B12? I think he needs a classroom to boost him out of his slump. Ideally, there would be stimulating teachers, wholesome students and lots of time in class to do assignments, with minimal homework so he would still have time after school for piano, theater and soccer. The Christian school is not known for minimal homework or for a particularly stimulating curriculum--too much memorization for memorization's sake, in my opinion. (Even a retired teacher, who was staying with us once and who helped Blondechick study for a test, couldn't believe the detail she was asked to memorize.) It was not a bad thing for Blondechick or B16, but the cost was steep for what was not a totally ideal educational experience. Plus they put 7th-12th grades together there, and from a social standpoint, that would not be good for B12.
So we have the public middle school, and our biggest concern about it is probably the other kids. B12 is pretty innocent, although he does share a room with a not-so-innocent teenage brother, so I know he knows stuff. But he's a pretty deep pool, and the surface waters are relatively tranquil. They're likely to stay that way, I think, even if we put him in public school. But the wrong friends can do a number on any kid this age.
In the past two weeks, I've discovered that we know three girls in the 7th grade at the middle school that he would go to. I've talked to them and their mothers, and I've heard how much their girls love middle school--more than their elementary schools--and their teachers, and their friends there. "Everyone is so nice," two of them said. "I feel like I'm learning a lot," one said. "The teachers have been fabulous," two of the moms said. I heard from a Christian high school girl that the kids who come out of this middle school are "all the best kids" at the big high school.
So now this school seems like a much friendlier option, and I'm wondering whether we ought to just move him there in a week, when the new semester begins. Maybe plan on having him finish this year there and do one more in 8th grade. That's what B16 tells me we should do. He thinks his own experience going to school for 8th and 9th grade was good discipline for him. He learned he could do more than he thought, faster than he thought, and now he is able to focus and crank out the work when he needs to, and then have time for guitar practice, voice lessons, song-writing, theater rehearsals and other things he cares most about.
That's what I want for B12 too, and I fear he won't have time for other things if he's locked up in school all day. But maybe the short-term pain will be a long-term gain for him. He's not finding much time for other things anyway, when he's dragging out every assignment--and not because he's fascinated and learning so much. Just the opposite--he's stuck in a swamp of lethargy. He is bright, and he's capable of taking an intrinsic interest in a subject, but he's just not feelin' it most days. Blondechick thought he seemed depressed, but I wonder if he is bored. I keep thinking that he'll come alive in a classroom environment. And if I'm wrong, better to be committed to only a half a year.
But he's not sure about starting mid-year. He sounds more willing to try the public middle school for 8th grade, although he's torn because the virtual school may start a new program next year where they actually buy you a laptop and it's yours to keep (and get serviced at Best Buy, instead of by the school). The prospect of his own laptop blinds him, even though B16 pointed out that he could still come back and do the virtual school for high school and get his own laptop then. He'd rather not wait that long, though, although he likes the idea of going to the middle school for one year, maybe. Maybe for 8th grade, he says.
I think he may need more than one year of the structure and discipline that school would force upon him, so I'm leaning toward starting him now, but I don't feel perfect peace about it. He wants another chance to redeem himself and do better second semester. I think he would, and I know I would check in with him more often this time. Since it was old hat to him, and all new to B16, I spent more time with B16 and trusted B12 when he told me he was caught up. B12 insists he didn't realize he had skipped assignments, and while I find it hard to believe, I will check the gradebook more regularly myself, if we continue.
Another possibility is to go back to our traditional homeschooling model, which was a lot of reading, but not a lot of assignments or testing, except in math. He tells me that's what he'd really like. But in his current malaise, I fear he would learn only a fraction of what he should be learning for 7th grade. We have friends that use Charlotte Mason's methods, with the Ambleside Online curriculum, and I could see B12 doing better with that because it would require more parental involvement--he needs the stimulation of other minds right now--and because of the other friend to discuss ideas with.
But he could easily fall into learning the bare minimum with it, too; plus the thought exhausts me, right now. Papa R actually wonders whether he could be the one to take over B12's education if we did this--the dad in the other family is very involved--but we both know that the day-to-day pushing would have to come from me. And with his traveling and responsibilities with the church, PR's evenings are often tied up. Though I'd consider this possibility further for the future, it doesn't seem like a good mid-year option to me--it feels like a gear shift that won't go smoothly.
So, no easy answer this time! We have one more week before the semester ends/begins, and we should probably go in to the middle school and check it out. If that's the way we should go, and I'm leaning that way, I'll pray for confirmation. I already did, once, to ask the Lord if we should seriously consider it, and then He sent me those three girls and their moms, in a period of 4 days.
I'm telling myself it doesn't mean the timing is right, though. Putting him in school next week will shake up our comfortable schedule. He will miss morning prayer with his dad and his brothers--B20and B16--which they've been doing a couple days a week. He'll be gone from 7:30 till 4:30 every day, and he'll have to go to bed much earlier. That won't leave much time for homework or piano practice. Not sure how that will work at all on theater and piano lesson nights--and he wants to play soccer again this spring instead of doing another show, which is two school nights (theater is just one). But it would be the same dilemma in 8th grade, and other kids manage somehow. Blondechick and B16 did, and I know they profited from it. B16 is so much more appreciative and able to take advantage of homeschooling now!
Eh, this is too long. But it helps to ramble it out, so if you're still with me, thank you, and feel free to share any advice or thoughts you might have!
I suppose I could worry about consistency and gaps in our kids' education, but I prefer to think that responding to their needs each year--even each semester--is more important than thoroughness. Especially when I quiz them on things we learned three years ago--memorable things like big projects and field trips--and discover that they barely recall them. So much for thoroughness! Their minds retain the most-used skills and information, plus whatever random facts and experiences stick. I think providing an environment rich in learning opportunities is something I strive for more than consistency.
We're at another of these crossroads, now, where I feel that something is not working anymore for one of our kids. Usually, I feel a pretty strong sense of what they need, and that intuition seems to come through prayer, accompanied by a sense of peace about the decision. Papa R has always been very supportive of me and of homeschooling, and he tends to prefer it for our kids, but when I feel it's not working for some reason, he listens and prays with me about other options.
I am grateful that we have such a variety of options to consider, but this time, I'm really having trouble discerning what is best for B12, in 7th grade. He'll be B13 in a month. He's enrolled in iQ Academy, a virtual school here in Wisconsin, which worked really well for him last year. It was just the right amount of challenge--more and bigger assignments that required more writing and critical thinking than he was used to--yet they weren't overwhelming, and the teachers were pretty easy on the grading.
I thought this year would be a piece of cake for him, now that he knew how it worked; plus this year he has the companionship of B16, who's enrolled in the same program, in the 10th grade. B16 is doing fine with it, but B12 is really struggling with motivation and focus. One assignment can take him all day, or two days. He lets himself get distracted very easily--nothing new, for him--but it's also as if his engine is idling and just can't accelerate when he needs it to. He's kind of mopey. Nothing seems to motivate him. He hasn't been allowed to see his friends for weeks, because every weekend, he still has homework left over from the week. He started guessing his way through the multiple choice assignments, I discovered, rather than looking up the information. So half the time, he's just not learning anything.
He's much more motivated if I sit with him and we work together; but that's not something I have time for every day! I'm committed to doing his math with him--and geometry with B16--because math is the subject they get the most frustrated, confused and lost in. But it's my least-favorite subject, and too much math just fritters away at my sense of contentment and well-being, and then I need a break to go do a refreshing load of laundry, or some errands, to ease the anxiety about all that I'm not accomplishing while I sit and do math. Social studies or science assignments do not have the same easing effect for me, especially when they tend to be time-consuming, and I have to hold myself back from writing the dang essay for him, just to get it over with. But they are the ones that take him soooo long.
So what to do with B12? I think he needs a classroom to boost him out of his slump. Ideally, there would be stimulating teachers, wholesome students and lots of time in class to do assignments, with minimal homework so he would still have time after school for piano, theater and soccer. The Christian school is not known for minimal homework or for a particularly stimulating curriculum--too much memorization for memorization's sake, in my opinion. (Even a retired teacher, who was staying with us once and who helped Blondechick study for a test, couldn't believe the detail she was asked to memorize.) It was not a bad thing for Blondechick or B16, but the cost was steep for what was not a totally ideal educational experience. Plus they put 7th-12th grades together there, and from a social standpoint, that would not be good for B12.
So we have the public middle school, and our biggest concern about it is probably the other kids. B12 is pretty innocent, although he does share a room with a not-so-innocent teenage brother, so I know he knows stuff. But he's a pretty deep pool, and the surface waters are relatively tranquil. They're likely to stay that way, I think, even if we put him in public school. But the wrong friends can do a number on any kid this age.
In the past two weeks, I've discovered that we know three girls in the 7th grade at the middle school that he would go to. I've talked to them and their mothers, and I've heard how much their girls love middle school--more than their elementary schools--and their teachers, and their friends there. "Everyone is so nice," two of them said. "I feel like I'm learning a lot," one said. "The teachers have been fabulous," two of the moms said. I heard from a Christian high school girl that the kids who come out of this middle school are "all the best kids" at the big high school.
So now this school seems like a much friendlier option, and I'm wondering whether we ought to just move him there in a week, when the new semester begins. Maybe plan on having him finish this year there and do one more in 8th grade. That's what B16 tells me we should do. He thinks his own experience going to school for 8th and 9th grade was good discipline for him. He learned he could do more than he thought, faster than he thought, and now he is able to focus and crank out the work when he needs to, and then have time for guitar practice, voice lessons, song-writing, theater rehearsals and other things he cares most about.
That's what I want for B12 too, and I fear he won't have time for other things if he's locked up in school all day. But maybe the short-term pain will be a long-term gain for him. He's not finding much time for other things anyway, when he's dragging out every assignment--and not because he's fascinated and learning so much. Just the opposite--he's stuck in a swamp of lethargy. He is bright, and he's capable of taking an intrinsic interest in a subject, but he's just not feelin' it most days. Blondechick thought he seemed depressed, but I wonder if he is bored. I keep thinking that he'll come alive in a classroom environment. And if I'm wrong, better to be committed to only a half a year.
But he's not sure about starting mid-year. He sounds more willing to try the public middle school for 8th grade, although he's torn because the virtual school may start a new program next year where they actually buy you a laptop and it's yours to keep (and get serviced at Best Buy, instead of by the school). The prospect of his own laptop blinds him, even though B16 pointed out that he could still come back and do the virtual school for high school and get his own laptop then. He'd rather not wait that long, though, although he likes the idea of going to the middle school for one year, maybe. Maybe for 8th grade, he says.
I think he may need more than one year of the structure and discipline that school would force upon him, so I'm leaning toward starting him now, but I don't feel perfect peace about it. He wants another chance to redeem himself and do better second semester. I think he would, and I know I would check in with him more often this time. Since it was old hat to him, and all new to B16, I spent more time with B16 and trusted B12 when he told me he was caught up. B12 insists he didn't realize he had skipped assignments, and while I find it hard to believe, I will check the gradebook more regularly myself, if we continue.
Another possibility is to go back to our traditional homeschooling model, which was a lot of reading, but not a lot of assignments or testing, except in math. He tells me that's what he'd really like. But in his current malaise, I fear he would learn only a fraction of what he should be learning for 7th grade. We have friends that use Charlotte Mason's methods, with the Ambleside Online curriculum, and I could see B12 doing better with that because it would require more parental involvement--he needs the stimulation of other minds right now--and because of the other friend to discuss ideas with.
But he could easily fall into learning the bare minimum with it, too; plus the thought exhausts me, right now. Papa R actually wonders whether he could be the one to take over B12's education if we did this--the dad in the other family is very involved--but we both know that the day-to-day pushing would have to come from me. And with his traveling and responsibilities with the church, PR's evenings are often tied up. Though I'd consider this possibility further for the future, it doesn't seem like a good mid-year option to me--it feels like a gear shift that won't go smoothly.
So, no easy answer this time! We have one more week before the semester ends/begins, and we should probably go in to the middle school and check it out. If that's the way we should go, and I'm leaning that way, I'll pray for confirmation. I already did, once, to ask the Lord if we should seriously consider it, and then He sent me those three girls and their moms, in a period of 4 days.
I'm telling myself it doesn't mean the timing is right, though. Putting him in school next week will shake up our comfortable schedule. He will miss morning prayer with his dad and his brothers--B20and B16--which they've been doing a couple days a week. He'll be gone from 7:30 till 4:30 every day, and he'll have to go to bed much earlier. That won't leave much time for homework or piano practice. Not sure how that will work at all on theater and piano lesson nights--and he wants to play soccer again this spring instead of doing another show, which is two school nights (theater is just one). But it would be the same dilemma in 8th grade, and other kids manage somehow. Blondechick and B16 did, and I know they profited from it. B16 is so much more appreciative and able to take advantage of homeschooling now!
Eh, this is too long. But it helps to ramble it out, so if you're still with me, thank you, and feel free to share any advice or thoughts you might have!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Arrrgghhhh...
My plans for better blogging are going right out the window this week!
The Bantams 12 and 16 are enrolled in a virtual school, you may remember. They have enjoyed its flexibility to include many other learning opportunities, and in fact, this semester B16 has logged over 200 hours of guitar lessons and practice, voice lessons and practice, playing with two bands and the worship team at church, and recording in a studio with one of his bands. He's receiving one fine arts credit for all these hours, and he's also receiving a half-credit for the over 90 "service learning" hours he's logged, doing set-up and take-down at church, serving on the worship team, assistant-coaching a Catholic school soccer team, and helping another ministry with set-up, decorating and take-down at their annual fundraising dinner.
He and B12 were able to work at the Christmas tree farm, and now they are both in rehearsals for The Sound of Music. B12 has put in the hours on piano, played soccer and attended all-day Redemption tournaments. But NOW the flexibility has ended, and the hard-and-fast deadline for all the projects, papers and assignments is HERE!
It's this weekend, I mean. So this week I've been spending more time than usual supervising, assisting, prioritizing, teaching--and nagging. They're both going to be okay, I think--if they use their time wisely! And if I help move things along a bit on their biggest projects. They just work so much better and faster if I am involved.
In other news, it was my birthday on Monday, and I received lots of affirming words on Facebook and from my husband and kids. Some of my favorite lines from my kids:
There's really not much to say other than the usual "I love you" and also thank you for taking care of me, and helping me, and teaching me many good valuable lessons about how to live my life the right way, and stuff like that. ~B20
You are beautiful and fun to be around and I will always hope to be like you when I have kids. People use the nickname "supermom," but I'll go with best friend on steroids. ~Blondechick19
Some moms don't have a sense of style, but you have some real swag. ~B16
I hope that your birthday is very happy. I also hope you can have a rest from helping B16 and I. I am very thankful that you are my mother and I wish I wasn't so behind so we could have some time to spend talking about things we want to talk about. ~B12
I've been feeling closer to God each Sunday and I feel really good about it, it makes me feel more comfortable in my life! ~Chicklet8
The day hass kum to my moms brthday. I nivr miss it.
I love you. I will olwes be her with you. ~B6
The Bantams 12 and 16 are enrolled in a virtual school, you may remember. They have enjoyed its flexibility to include many other learning opportunities, and in fact, this semester B16 has logged over 200 hours of guitar lessons and practice, voice lessons and practice, playing with two bands and the worship team at church, and recording in a studio with one of his bands. He's receiving one fine arts credit for all these hours, and he's also receiving a half-credit for the over 90 "service learning" hours he's logged, doing set-up and take-down at church, serving on the worship team, assistant-coaching a Catholic school soccer team, and helping another ministry with set-up, decorating and take-down at their annual fundraising dinner.
He and B12 were able to work at the Christmas tree farm, and now they are both in rehearsals for The Sound of Music. B12 has put in the hours on piano, played soccer and attended all-day Redemption tournaments. But NOW the flexibility has ended, and the hard-and-fast deadline for all the projects, papers and assignments is HERE!
It's this weekend, I mean. So this week I've been spending more time than usual supervising, assisting, prioritizing, teaching--and nagging. They're both going to be okay, I think--if they use their time wisely! And if I help move things along a bit on their biggest projects. They just work so much better and faster if I am involved.
***
In other news, it was my birthday on Monday, and I received lots of affirming words on Facebook and from my husband and kids. Some of my favorite lines from my kids:
There's really not much to say other than the usual "I love you" and also thank you for taking care of me, and helping me, and teaching me many good valuable lessons about how to live my life the right way, and stuff like that. ~B20
You are beautiful and fun to be around and I will always hope to be like you when I have kids. People use the nickname "supermom," but I'll go with best friend on steroids. ~Blondechick19
Some moms don't have a sense of style, but you have some real swag. ~B16
I hope that your birthday is very happy. I also hope you can have a rest from helping B16 and I. I am very thankful that you are my mother and I wish I wasn't so behind so we could have some time to spend talking about things we want to talk about. ~B12
I've been feeling closer to God each Sunday and I feel really good about it, it makes me feel more comfortable in my life! ~Chicklet8
The day hass kum to my moms brthday. I nivr miss it.
I love you. I will olwes be her with you. ~B6
Friday, January 06, 2012
Epiphany, Light of Christ, and More
First of all, thank you so much for all the good wishes and encouragement left for me in the comment box of my last post! It was a heartening way to celebrate six years of blogging. (The comment box is still open; you're never too to the party!)
It's Epiphany, the end of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" and the beginning of a new season in which we celebrate the Wise Men following the star and encountering Jesus at the end of their long journey. Our church was birthed during Epiphany, which is why we named it Light of Christ.
Isn't that a great image? We use that star combined with a quatrefoil in our logo. It is our prayer that our church will be the Light of Christ "bursting forth to all the nations"--or at least shining into the dark places of our city. We pray it will be a powerful beacon, like the landmark lighthouses of Kenosha.
Tonight, our congregation will meet for dinner and our Annual Celebration. Oh, it's a business meeting too, where we'll approve the budget and our new vestry members. But we'll also rejoice in what God has done in the past year, and anticipate what we believe He wants to do through us in 2012. And it's our fifth birthday, as a church! Lots to celebrate.
So I better go get ready. It's been a busy week of appointments, errands and schoolwork pushed off until after the holidays. We had a nice time over the break, first with Papa Rooster's side of the family--his parents, his brother and our sister-in-law and niece/cousin--all at our house on Christmas Day, then with my parents at their home in Ohio in between Christmas and New Year's. My Pilot Brother and his wife and their four girls were all there too, so it was quite the family gathering!
Blondechick is still home from college, and we got to have lunch together yesterday, before she goes back next week to begin a new semester of classes. Bantam20 is finally off the waiting list at the DVR (Department of Vocational Rehabilitation), and we met twice this week with his caseworker, who assists people with disabilities to find jobs. I really like her, and we are eager to see what she comes up with.
The Bantams 16 and 12 have one more week to complete all their work for the semester, for their virtual school. They got behind before the break, partly due to their employment at the Christmas tree farm, and then they weren't able to make up very much of it over the break, with all the family visits. So I've been trying to keep them focused, assisting where needed--and trying not to stress out too much.
Happy Epiphany, everyone!
It's Epiphany, the end of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" and the beginning of a new season in which we celebrate the Wise Men following the star and encountering Jesus at the end of their long journey. Our church was birthed during Epiphany, which is why we named it Light of Christ.
During Advent, the world was in darkness, and we prayed and waited in the spirit of the Jewish nation which lived in expectation of the Coming Light during thousands of years. At Christmas the Light shone forth, but dimly, seen only by a few around the crib: Mary and Joseph and the shepherds. But at Epiphany the Light bursts forth to all nations and the prophecy is fulfilled: "The Gentiles shall walk in Thy light, and kings in the brightness of Thy rising." The mysterious star of Epiphany, "flashing like a flame," is still another facet of the light-motif, a symbol capable of being interpreted in a dozen different ways. ~Elsa Chaney
Isn't that a great image? We use that star combined with a quatrefoil in our logo. It is our prayer that our church will be the Light of Christ "bursting forth to all the nations"--or at least shining into the dark places of our city. We pray it will be a powerful beacon, like the landmark lighthouses of Kenosha.
Tonight, our congregation will meet for dinner and our Annual Celebration. Oh, it's a business meeting too, where we'll approve the budget and our new vestry members. But we'll also rejoice in what God has done in the past year, and anticipate what we believe He wants to do through us in 2012. And it's our fifth birthday, as a church! Lots to celebrate.
***
So I better go get ready. It's been a busy week of appointments, errands and schoolwork pushed off until after the holidays. We had a nice time over the break, first with Papa Rooster's side of the family--his parents, his brother and our sister-in-law and niece/cousin--all at our house on Christmas Day, then with my parents at their home in Ohio in between Christmas and New Year's. My Pilot Brother and his wife and their four girls were all there too, so it was quite the family gathering!
Blondechick is still home from college, and we got to have lunch together yesterday, before she goes back next week to begin a new semester of classes. Bantam20 is finally off the waiting list at the DVR (Department of Vocational Rehabilitation), and we met twice this week with his caseworker, who assists people with disabilities to find jobs. I really like her, and we are eager to see what she comes up with.
The Bantams 16 and 12 have one more week to complete all their work for the semester, for their virtual school. They got behind before the break, partly due to their employment at the Christmas tree farm, and then they weren't able to make up very much of it over the break, with all the family visits. So I've been trying to keep them focused, assisting where needed--and trying not to stress out too much.
Happy Epiphany, everyone!
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Six Years of Blogging
January has always seemed like a good time of year to start something new.
Seven years ago, I read my first blog post, and I was really attracted to this idea of an online journal. It seemed like an attainable writing challenge for me. For a year, I thought and prayed about whether it would be in line with God's will and what its purpose would be. I had just had my sixth child; I was homeschooling, active in my church, and had a husband who traveled a lot. Would it be right for me to spend the time on what was possibly just a whim?
But I couldn't put the idea out of my mind, and it grew to be a strong desire. My husband approved, and I knew that if nothing else, it could be an online family scrapbook and a way for extended family and friends to keep up with us. But I hoped it might also be an encouragement to other Christian women (and maybe even a few men)--something I really did feel called to.
So I made a Poke the Box decision (before that book was written) to just start something, and see what happened. My first post was a late-night New Year's Eve movie review. In subsequent entries, I explained my blog theme, about contentment with the reality that spiritual growth happens slowly when one is busy with a family, and that it happens in the mundane and everyday. (See the sidebar labels "a hen's pace" and "sacred everyday.")
I might examine these threads again, six years later, when the nest feels so different! The pace of our life has increased so much in the last six years, with a move in our geographical location, the added responsibility for Papa Rooster of leading a church, and our chicks spreading their wings and spending more time out of the nest--which really stretches a Mama Hen.
It's January, and with the decision to put our two youngest in school this year, I finally feel like I have a little breathing room in my life. Perhaps I could do more with my blog now. Or is there something else God wants me to put my writing energies into? Just like six years ago, I doubt, and wonder whether that energy should go to my family or my church instead.
But I think God smiles at my chicken scratchings here, and it surely lifts my soul to write. Don't know about starting something new...but I think at least I shall continue!
To help celebrate my "blog-i-versary," every year I ask my readers to post a comment for me! It cheers me to know there are real, live people reading, not just numbers or random google hits racking up on a site meter.
Just chime in with a hello and where you're from, since that's fun for everyone to see. And if you have a question, suggestion or request for me, I promise I will write a post to address it!
(Is that rash? We shall see!)
Blessings, friends! Thank you all!
Seven years ago, I read my first blog post, and I was really attracted to this idea of an online journal. It seemed like an attainable writing challenge for me. For a year, I thought and prayed about whether it would be in line with God's will and what its purpose would be. I had just had my sixth child; I was homeschooling, active in my church, and had a husband who traveled a lot. Would it be right for me to spend the time on what was possibly just a whim?
But I couldn't put the idea out of my mind, and it grew to be a strong desire. My husband approved, and I knew that if nothing else, it could be an online family scrapbook and a way for extended family and friends to keep up with us. But I hoped it might also be an encouragement to other Christian women (and maybe even a few men)--something I really did feel called to.
So I made a Poke the Box decision (before that book was written) to just start something, and see what happened. My first post was a late-night New Year's Eve movie review. In subsequent entries, I explained my blog theme, about contentment with the reality that spiritual growth happens slowly when one is busy with a family, and that it happens in the mundane and everyday. (See the sidebar labels "a hen's pace" and "sacred everyday.")
I might examine these threads again, six years later, when the nest feels so different! The pace of our life has increased so much in the last six years, with a move in our geographical location, the added responsibility for Papa Rooster of leading a church, and our chicks spreading their wings and spending more time out of the nest--which really stretches a Mama Hen.
It's January, and with the decision to put our two youngest in school this year, I finally feel like I have a little breathing room in my life. Perhaps I could do more with my blog now. Or is there something else God wants me to put my writing energies into? Just like six years ago, I doubt, and wonder whether that energy should go to my family or my church instead.
But I think God smiles at my chicken scratchings here, and it surely lifts my soul to write. Don't know about starting something new...but I think at least I shall continue!
To help celebrate my "blog-i-versary," every year I ask my readers to post a comment for me! It cheers me to know there are real, live people reading, not just numbers or random google hits racking up on a site meter.
Just chime in with a hello and where you're from, since that's fun for everyone to see. And if you have a question, suggestion or request for me, I promise I will write a post to address it!
(Is that rash? We shall see!)
Blessings, friends! Thank you all!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Books Read in 2011--Annotated
Abraham Lincoln's World (Genevieve Foster)
Bought this book for our homeschooling endeavors and decided to read it myself, for fun. It’s a fascinating overview of the major events and people, across the globe, of the time period in which Lincoln lived. Easy enough for kids to understand, rich enough for adults to enjoy.
True Grit (Charles Portis)
We’ve had this book on our shelves for a long time, but because of the ugly book jacket, nobody ever read it. It was sitting in a stack to donate to St. Vincent’s when the movie came out, so I pulled it out and read it. Glad I did! Not only did I enjoy this fast-paced story with the compelling narrative voice of a truly gritty young girl, but our edition--a garage sale find—turns out to be an early one that is actually worth something. (I may just have to learn something about online selling in order to reap that reward.)
Yes, I saw the movie, and thought it was very true to the book. I really liked both.
The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen (Jacques Pépin)
Jacques Pepin is an internationally-known French chef and television cooking show host. His story began in France, as a boy sent to the country during WWII, who then learned to cook in his mother’s restaurants and later became a chef in Paris. He served in the French military as the personal chef of Charles de Gaulle, then emigrated to America where he's had all sorts of culinary adventures. I really enjoyed this as an autobiography and as a tantalizing excursion through many different cuisines and ways of thinking about food and cooking. I especially enjoyed the audiobook version, read with authentic French accents and pronunciations.
Sisterchicks Say Oo La La (Robin Jones Gunn)
Another little taste of Paris. Part of a series about Christian women who vacation together in exotic locations and become closer to God and each other in the experience. Lighthearted beach reading.
Gideon's Gift (Karen Kingsbury)
Even though Karen Kingsbury’s books can feel a bit formulaic, I really do like how her stories inspire and encourage. This one is about a homeless man with a story that you don’t learn until the end. Gideon is a little girl with cancer who meets him while serving with her family at a homeless shelter, and gives him a gift that unlocks his story, brings about healing and ultimately…oh, I won't give it away.
Between Sundays (Karen Kingsbury)
This is a story about a spoiled NFL quarterback and a woman whose foster son believes that he’s the son of the star quarterback. Another football player on the team is a family man and a Christian who works with foster kids, which brings boy and quarterback together, and ultimately….ah, shouldn't give this one away either. You can tell this story has an agenda, to raise awareness about foster kids, just as Gideon’s Gift was about homelessness, but I like the way these positive, feel-good stories compel you to care. Blondechick loves this author.
Something Rising (Light and Swift) (Haven Kimmel)
I didn’t care for this novel as much as I liked her first two autobiographical books. It’s well-written and deep in the way that it digs into the human psyche, in a way that reminded me of plays like The Glass Menagerie or A Streetcar Named Desire. But in this novel, the characters merely seemed sad to me, rather than powerfully drawn.
One Thousand Gifts (Ann Voskamp)
Is there anyone out there who hasn’t read this yet? It’s a compelling, deep and joyful encouragement to give thanks for everything, at all times, in all places, with the promise—theologically true and research-based—that it will change your life to do so. Ann is the blogger in the quiet corner called A Holy Experience, which I’ve been recommending for years; I am delighted that her name and her message are becoming so well-known! I feel like I am still such a beginner at viewing life through this lens, but Ann's writing continues to shape my mind and heart.
Poke the Box (Seth Godin)
Seth Godin is a creative, entrepreneurial type who has a well-known blog and several books. This one is basically saying, “Just start something.” It would be a great read if you know there is something God wants you to do, but you need some oomph to just do it. It might also get your juices flowing if you’ve never really asked yourself the question, “Is there something I want/should/need to do?” Very quick; very thought-provoking.
The War of Art (Steven Pressfield)
This is another book Papa Rooster recommended to me, and it has a similar theme to Poke the Box. This one addresses the concept of “resistance” to “doing the work” that you are called to do. Pressfield is a writer, so his words are especially apropos for wordsmiths, but his concepts apply to all artists and entrepreneurs.
Both these books raised questions for me about calling, as it relates to writing, mothering, teaching, drama, and service in the church. I have more questions than answers, still, but it’s been helpful to explore the questions!
The Rest of God (Mark Buchanan)
I liked this book a lot. He talks about Sabbath, liturgy, rest and the ways they intersect with real life and work. I read it too fast because I was lovin’ it, and now I want to review and work it further in.
Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl (N. D. Wilson)
At A Hen’s Pace review here.
Ellis Island and Other Stories (Mark Helprin)
I love a good short story, and Mark Helprin’s are the best. Beautiful, memorable, haunting, ironic, unexpected.
Soldier of the Great War (Mark Helprin)
Like his short stories, but much longer. An epic life story in the vein of Island of the World (At A Hen’s Pace ’08 review here). See above adjectives for Helprin.
The Master Butchers Singing Club (Louise Erdrich)
I wasn’t sure about this one for a while, because early on, there is a disturbing incident of homosexuality--to explain why one character isn’t interested in women, I guess, since it turns out it's tangential to the rest of the book. But I ended up really enjoying this for its strong sense of place and character. It’s about a German immigrant, a butcher, who ends up in North Dakota, gets married and starts a family. Meanwhile, a hometown girl returns to the town to deal with her father, the town drunk, and nurses the butcher’s wife through a losing bout with cancer. She stands in as mother to the butcher’s sons until… Oh, lots of subplots are uncovered by the end of this sober story.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows)
Wow, this one is probably my favorite book of the year. It reminded me of 84 Charing Cross Road (another favorite)--all letters. The central figure is a female author in London. She corresponds with her editor, a college friend, and a gentleman from the island of Guernsey, who begins to share the experience of the islanders during the occupation by the Germans during the recent WWII. Interested in book material, she begins to interview, through letters, other members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and eventually goes to meet them all. I listened to the audiobook, and I’d say that’s the way to go, with different voices for all the different letter authors. Absolutely delightful.
Postern of Fate (A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery) (Agatha Christie)
Typical Agatha Christie, but Tommy and Tuppence were new to me. Apparently they were spies in their heyday, but they are elderly retired folks in this story, moving into a new house in which to settle down quietly. But there is a mystery to its history!
The Last Wife of Henry VIII (Carolly Erickson)
I enjoyed the audiobook version of this story—read by a woman with a gorgeous British accent--which covered all of Henry VIII’s marriages, from the perspective of his last wife. It was written by a history professor, but in a quick survey of reviews, it seems the history buffs think she left out a lot.
The Ragamuffin Gospel (Brennan Manning)
I never read this back when it was all the rage—in the 90’s?--but I’m glad I finally got around to it this year. It hit the grace note hard, which I needed to hear. (Further thoughts here.)
Grace for the Good Girl (Emily Freeman)
I thought from the title that this would be a good follow-up to The Ragamuffin Gospel. It was, and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t as memorable or as hard-hitting.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Laura Hillenbrand)
What an amazing story. A world-class runner and Olympian serves as a gunner on American fighter planes in WWII. He’s shot down and survives on a raft for months in the Pacific before he is picked up by the Japanese and imprisoned in terrible conditions in POW camps, where he barely survives. On his return home, he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and begins to drink heavily to drown the nightmares and hallucinations. He nearly strangles his wife, dreaming that she is one of his captors. She drags him to a Billy Graham crusade, and there he is saved and released from the grip of his torturous memories. It is a remarkable, meticulously researched biograhy of one man and many others who were part of his story. (By the author of Seabiscuit.)
A Crooked Kind of Perfect (Linda Urban)
I loved this kids' book. A 10-year-old girl longs to be a concert pianist, but is given an organ instead, complete with lessons and the chance to compete at the organ company’s Perform-O-Rama. It’s not what she had in mind, but she makes the best of it. Her dad seems to be agoraphobic and can’t leave his house without anxiety. She discovers at a girls’ birthday party that she must be a nerd. Her new best friend is a boy, who comes over to her house all the time to bake and do homework with her dad, since he is basically parentless. It’s not a perfect family or a perfect life, but like her friend’s smile, it’s cute in a crooked way. I like the way this story deals with social trials and imperfect circumstances in a light way.
Understood Betsy (Dorothy Canfield Fisher)
Read this aloud to the two youngest and we loved it. I promptly passed it on to a psychologist friend who deals with a lot of over-protective, "helicoptor" parents. Betsy is an orphan being raised by two hovering and overly-sympathetic aunts; circumstances force her to go and live with relatives on a New England farm who expect independence and responsibility from the young girl, who rises to their expectations.
For more year-end book lists and reviews, see Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books.
And just for fun, you might also like my annotated list of Movies Watched in 2011.
Bought this book for our homeschooling endeavors and decided to read it myself, for fun. It’s a fascinating overview of the major events and people, across the globe, of the time period in which Lincoln lived. Easy enough for kids to understand, rich enough for adults to enjoy.
True Grit (Charles Portis)
We’ve had this book on our shelves for a long time, but because of the ugly book jacket, nobody ever read it. It was sitting in a stack to donate to St. Vincent’s when the movie came out, so I pulled it out and read it. Glad I did! Not only did I enjoy this fast-paced story with the compelling narrative voice of a truly gritty young girl, but our edition--a garage sale find—turns out to be an early one that is actually worth something. (I may just have to learn something about online selling in order to reap that reward.)
Yes, I saw the movie, and thought it was very true to the book. I really liked both.
The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen (Jacques Pépin)
Jacques Pepin is an internationally-known French chef and television cooking show host. His story began in France, as a boy sent to the country during WWII, who then learned to cook in his mother’s restaurants and later became a chef in Paris. He served in the French military as the personal chef of Charles de Gaulle, then emigrated to America where he's had all sorts of culinary adventures. I really enjoyed this as an autobiography and as a tantalizing excursion through many different cuisines and ways of thinking about food and cooking. I especially enjoyed the audiobook version, read with authentic French accents and pronunciations.
Sisterchicks Say Oo La La (Robin Jones Gunn)
Another little taste of Paris. Part of a series about Christian women who vacation together in exotic locations and become closer to God and each other in the experience. Lighthearted beach reading.
Gideon's Gift (Karen Kingsbury)
Even though Karen Kingsbury’s books can feel a bit formulaic, I really do like how her stories inspire and encourage. This one is about a homeless man with a story that you don’t learn until the end. Gideon is a little girl with cancer who meets him while serving with her family at a homeless shelter, and gives him a gift that unlocks his story, brings about healing and ultimately…oh, I won't give it away.
Between Sundays (Karen Kingsbury)
This is a story about a spoiled NFL quarterback and a woman whose foster son believes that he’s the son of the star quarterback. Another football player on the team is a family man and a Christian who works with foster kids, which brings boy and quarterback together, and ultimately….ah, shouldn't give this one away either. You can tell this story has an agenda, to raise awareness about foster kids, just as Gideon’s Gift was about homelessness, but I like the way these positive, feel-good stories compel you to care. Blondechick loves this author.
Something Rising (Light and Swift) (Haven Kimmel)
I didn’t care for this novel as much as I liked her first two autobiographical books. It’s well-written and deep in the way that it digs into the human psyche, in a way that reminded me of plays like The Glass Menagerie or A Streetcar Named Desire. But in this novel, the characters merely seemed sad to me, rather than powerfully drawn.
One Thousand Gifts (Ann Voskamp)
Is there anyone out there who hasn’t read this yet? It’s a compelling, deep and joyful encouragement to give thanks for everything, at all times, in all places, with the promise—theologically true and research-based—that it will change your life to do so. Ann is the blogger in the quiet corner called A Holy Experience, which I’ve been recommending for years; I am delighted that her name and her message are becoming so well-known! I feel like I am still such a beginner at viewing life through this lens, but Ann's writing continues to shape my mind and heart.
Poke the Box (Seth Godin)
Seth Godin is a creative, entrepreneurial type who has a well-known blog and several books. This one is basically saying, “Just start something.” It would be a great read if you know there is something God wants you to do, but you need some oomph to just do it. It might also get your juices flowing if you’ve never really asked yourself the question, “Is there something I want/should/need to do?” Very quick; very thought-provoking.
The War of Art (Steven Pressfield)
This is another book Papa Rooster recommended to me, and it has a similar theme to Poke the Box. This one addresses the concept of “resistance” to “doing the work” that you are called to do. Pressfield is a writer, so his words are especially apropos for wordsmiths, but his concepts apply to all artists and entrepreneurs.
Both these books raised questions for me about calling, as it relates to writing, mothering, teaching, drama, and service in the church. I have more questions than answers, still, but it’s been helpful to explore the questions!
The Rest of God (Mark Buchanan)
I liked this book a lot. He talks about Sabbath, liturgy, rest and the ways they intersect with real life and work. I read it too fast because I was lovin’ it, and now I want to review and work it further in.
Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl (N. D. Wilson)
At A Hen’s Pace review here.
Ellis Island and Other Stories (Mark Helprin)
I love a good short story, and Mark Helprin’s are the best. Beautiful, memorable, haunting, ironic, unexpected.
Soldier of the Great War (Mark Helprin)
Like his short stories, but much longer. An epic life story in the vein of Island of the World (At A Hen’s Pace ’08 review here). See above adjectives for Helprin.
The Master Butchers Singing Club (Louise Erdrich)
I wasn’t sure about this one for a while, because early on, there is a disturbing incident of homosexuality--to explain why one character isn’t interested in women, I guess, since it turns out it's tangential to the rest of the book. But I ended up really enjoying this for its strong sense of place and character. It’s about a German immigrant, a butcher, who ends up in North Dakota, gets married and starts a family. Meanwhile, a hometown girl returns to the town to deal with her father, the town drunk, and nurses the butcher’s wife through a losing bout with cancer. She stands in as mother to the butcher’s sons until… Oh, lots of subplots are uncovered by the end of this sober story.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows)
Wow, this one is probably my favorite book of the year. It reminded me of 84 Charing Cross Road (another favorite)--all letters. The central figure is a female author in London. She corresponds with her editor, a college friend, and a gentleman from the island of Guernsey, who begins to share the experience of the islanders during the occupation by the Germans during the recent WWII. Interested in book material, she begins to interview, through letters, other members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and eventually goes to meet them all. I listened to the audiobook, and I’d say that’s the way to go, with different voices for all the different letter authors. Absolutely delightful.
Postern of Fate (A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery) (Agatha Christie)
Typical Agatha Christie, but Tommy and Tuppence were new to me. Apparently they were spies in their heyday, but they are elderly retired folks in this story, moving into a new house in which to settle down quietly. But there is a mystery to its history!
The Last Wife of Henry VIII (Carolly Erickson)
I enjoyed the audiobook version of this story—read by a woman with a gorgeous British accent--which covered all of Henry VIII’s marriages, from the perspective of his last wife. It was written by a history professor, but in a quick survey of reviews, it seems the history buffs think she left out a lot.
The Ragamuffin Gospel (Brennan Manning)
I never read this back when it was all the rage—in the 90’s?--but I’m glad I finally got around to it this year. It hit the grace note hard, which I needed to hear. (Further thoughts here.)
Grace for the Good Girl (Emily Freeman)
I thought from the title that this would be a good follow-up to The Ragamuffin Gospel. It was, and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t as memorable or as hard-hitting.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Laura Hillenbrand)
What an amazing story. A world-class runner and Olympian serves as a gunner on American fighter planes in WWII. He’s shot down and survives on a raft for months in the Pacific before he is picked up by the Japanese and imprisoned in terrible conditions in POW camps, where he barely survives. On his return home, he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and begins to drink heavily to drown the nightmares and hallucinations. He nearly strangles his wife, dreaming that she is one of his captors. She drags him to a Billy Graham crusade, and there he is saved and released from the grip of his torturous memories. It is a remarkable, meticulously researched biograhy of one man and many others who were part of his story. (By the author of Seabiscuit.)
A Crooked Kind of Perfect (Linda Urban)
I loved this kids' book. A 10-year-old girl longs to be a concert pianist, but is given an organ instead, complete with lessons and the chance to compete at the organ company’s Perform-O-Rama. It’s not what she had in mind, but she makes the best of it. Her dad seems to be agoraphobic and can’t leave his house without anxiety. She discovers at a girls’ birthday party that she must be a nerd. Her new best friend is a boy, who comes over to her house all the time to bake and do homework with her dad, since he is basically parentless. It’s not a perfect family or a perfect life, but like her friend’s smile, it’s cute in a crooked way. I like the way this story deals with social trials and imperfect circumstances in a light way.
Understood Betsy (Dorothy Canfield Fisher)
Read this aloud to the two youngest and we loved it. I promptly passed it on to a psychologist friend who deals with a lot of over-protective, "helicoptor" parents. Betsy is an orphan being raised by two hovering and overly-sympathetic aunts; circumstances force her to go and live with relatives on a New England farm who expect independence and responsibility from the young girl, who rises to their expectations.
For more year-end book lists and reviews, see Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books.
And just for fun, you might also like my annotated list of Movies Watched in 2011.
Movies Watched in 2011--Annotated
Killers (2010)
I was told this was a cute little romantic comedy, but it was also a spy movie with a surprising amount of violence and death, for a cute little romantic comedy. The all-star cast tips the scale in its favor, but it's still a movie about a suburban couple who, after three years of wedded bliss, discovers that everyone is trying to kill them. Unsettling. Yet cute. Maybe a good compromise date choice. Not a pick, though.
Fracture (2007)
A little intense, but I enjoyed this for the acting, pitting Anthony Hopkins as a manipulative criminal against Ryan Gosling, ambitious prosecutor. You may remember this appealing younger actor from The Notebook. Did you know he was homeschooled?
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2011)
Rather than staying true to the book, this was a creative re-telling, blending events from the book into a new story line that worked well. I won't say the movie plot is better--it's tighter, but not as rich. I did love the ship, which was better than my imagination ever conjured! And the CGI for the dragon and the sea serpent were fabulous.
True Grit (2010)
This is my kind of Western, about characters with heart. The young actress who plays the main character was amazing. I read the book first and found the movie true.
To Save a Life (2009)
We actually watched this in 2010, but I forgot to list it. This poignant story is about a high school boy who commits suicide, and how his peers process his death and realize the ways they contributed to his despair. Yet it offers hope more than a guilt trip. Our teens really were touched by it. (Although this is one of those low-budget Christian movies, it contains mature situations like drinking, drugs, cutting, sex and teen pregnancy.)
Newsies (1992)
One of our kids’ all-time favorite musicals! It's "all-boy," with big dance numbers and a great musical score. It's one of the few Disney movies without a love story. It's also educational, based on the true story of the Newsboys Strike of 1899.
Bride and Prejudice (2004)
A Bollywood retelling of the Jane Austen story. Very Bollywood and fun.
1776 (1972)
One of my favorite musicals. The characterizations of the Founding Fathers are so believable; it humanizes their story and the drama of those days like no other book or movie I know. Our three oldest used to love to dress up and act out scenes from this movie--so many great moments in it! There are a few ribald jokes, but they go right over the heads of kids.
Tangled (2010)
Cute and fun. Maybe the build-up was too big, but it was not as refreshing and unique as I expected; it was still basically a princess movie, albeit with attitude. I really liked the horse.
The King's Speech (2010)
We thought this award-winning film deserved every bit of the critical acclaim it received for its excellence in portraying the true story of King George VI, who ended up as king after his older brother famously abdicated the throne for the love of Wallace Simpson. His leadership crippled by a speech impediment, he sought and received help from an unlikely source who became teacher, therapist and friend.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)
I wanted the Bantams to meet the young Johnny Depp, and they loved this well-crafted film. Gilbert Grape (Depp) is a teenager who’s been holding his family together since the death of his father. Their ramshackle house, which his father built, is falling down around them, his mother weighs so much that she never leaves home, and his younger brother (brilliantly played by a young Leonardo DiCaprio) has a mental disability that requires constant alertness and attentiveness. The story speaks to responsibility and love of family in difficult circumstances (There is a housewife that keeps seducing Gilbert; get ready to fast-forward through those parts.)
The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
This was an action/adventure movie with a twist about “maps” of people’s lives and angel-like characters who try to keep human beings on the route of their destiny. It was a little gimmicky and not that compelling of a story, I thought, but fine for what it was.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two (2011)
This was such a satisfying end to the series. I loved it.
Doubt (2008)
Intriguing film about a priest who may or may not have abused a young black boy at his parochial school. An older nun, played by Meryl Streep, has suspicions but no proof, and a younger nun, portrayed by Amy Adams, wants to believe the best in the face of reasons to doubt. There is one scene with the boy’s mother which earned that actress a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and at the awards ceremony they said she deserved her own movie…which she got in The Help! (Which I am eager to see on DVD.)
The Beaver (2011)
This was a strange movie. Mel Gibson plays a father who is depressed and about to lose his family and his company. He dons a beaver puppet on one hand which becomes his energized, non-depressed alter ego, and he will only relate to his family and employees through the puppet. Upset with his own dependency on the puppet, he cuts his hand off, and his depression is gone. It made sense to Papa Rooster as "a fable about idolatry and dependencies, even apparently therapeutic ones which seems to make us more useful to society but in the end are dangerous to our true selves. 'Better to cut off your hand than to lose your soul.' " But the kids and I just found it disturbing.
People Will Talk (1951)
This is a black-and-white Cary Grant movie that was pretty unremarkable and slow, we thought. But hey, it was streaming on Netflix.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
All six of our children love this movie and quote from it. Now I know why. A delightful kids' movie in the Pixar mold.
Shine (1996)
With aspiring musicians and actors in the house, we decided it was time to watch this with our teenagers. Amazing acting and an incredible true story about David Helfgott, a brilliant but neurotic piano prodigy.
Des Hommes et des Dieux (Of Gods and Men) (2010)
This was a beautiful true story about French monks in Algeria who decide to remain in their monastery and serve their community during the Algerian Civil War (1996) despite the personal sacrifice it eventually costs them. Subtitled and slow, but moving.
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
We watched this spoof after our boys played Merry Men onstage last spring. Not full of gay jokes, as you might think from the title, nor as bawdy as one might assume. I may not be remembering perfectly, but it seemed straight-up funny to me. And Robin Hood? He was played by Cary Elwes from Princess Bride ("As you wish")--all grown up and heroically humorous.
Soul Surfer (2011)
More well-done than I expected, still something lacking in the script and/or directing…but you couldn't help but appreciate the inspiring story.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Okay, I hear this is funnier if you’ve seen a lot of zombie movies, but it was my first, and I thought it was lame and disturbing. Blech!
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Just as funny as ever; more bad language than I remembered. But it’s a comedy classic.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert (2001 TV)
This dark musical is best appreciated as a morality tale about those who let their appetites (especially for revenge) control them. For our teens, this is like the musical equivalent of a horror movie; they love the 2007 Johnny Depp version. But this version—which is the full score and story acted out, but with minimal staging and props--is vocally amazing, they agreed. Sondheim’s brilliant score never sounded so incredible. Even without blood, it is intense. (Patti LuPone plays Mrs. Lovett, if you’re trying to look this one up.) Not for everyone!
I was told this was a cute little romantic comedy, but it was also a spy movie with a surprising amount of violence and death, for a cute little romantic comedy. The all-star cast tips the scale in its favor, but it's still a movie about a suburban couple who, after three years of wedded bliss, discovers that everyone is trying to kill them. Unsettling. Yet cute. Maybe a good compromise date choice. Not a pick, though.
Fracture (2007)
A little intense, but I enjoyed this for the acting, pitting Anthony Hopkins as a manipulative criminal against Ryan Gosling, ambitious prosecutor. You may remember this appealing younger actor from The Notebook. Did you know he was homeschooled?
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2011)
Rather than staying true to the book, this was a creative re-telling, blending events from the book into a new story line that worked well. I won't say the movie plot is better--it's tighter, but not as rich. I did love the ship, which was better than my imagination ever conjured! And the CGI for the dragon and the sea serpent were fabulous.
True Grit (2010)
This is my kind of Western, about characters with heart. The young actress who plays the main character was amazing. I read the book first and found the movie true.
To Save a Life (2009)
We actually watched this in 2010, but I forgot to list it. This poignant story is about a high school boy who commits suicide, and how his peers process his death and realize the ways they contributed to his despair. Yet it offers hope more than a guilt trip. Our teens really were touched by it. (Although this is one of those low-budget Christian movies, it contains mature situations like drinking, drugs, cutting, sex and teen pregnancy.)
Newsies (1992)
One of our kids’ all-time favorite musicals! It's "all-boy," with big dance numbers and a great musical score. It's one of the few Disney movies without a love story. It's also educational, based on the true story of the Newsboys Strike of 1899.
Bride and Prejudice (2004)
A Bollywood retelling of the Jane Austen story. Very Bollywood and fun.
1776 (1972)
One of my favorite musicals. The characterizations of the Founding Fathers are so believable; it humanizes their story and the drama of those days like no other book or movie I know. Our three oldest used to love to dress up and act out scenes from this movie--so many great moments in it! There are a few ribald jokes, but they go right over the heads of kids.
Tangled (2010)
Cute and fun. Maybe the build-up was too big, but it was not as refreshing and unique as I expected; it was still basically a princess movie, albeit with attitude. I really liked the horse.
The King's Speech (2010)
We thought this award-winning film deserved every bit of the critical acclaim it received for its excellence in portraying the true story of King George VI, who ended up as king after his older brother famously abdicated the throne for the love of Wallace Simpson. His leadership crippled by a speech impediment, he sought and received help from an unlikely source who became teacher, therapist and friend.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)
I wanted the Bantams to meet the young Johnny Depp, and they loved this well-crafted film. Gilbert Grape (Depp) is a teenager who’s been holding his family together since the death of his father. Their ramshackle house, which his father built, is falling down around them, his mother weighs so much that she never leaves home, and his younger brother (brilliantly played by a young Leonardo DiCaprio) has a mental disability that requires constant alertness and attentiveness. The story speaks to responsibility and love of family in difficult circumstances (There is a housewife that keeps seducing Gilbert; get ready to fast-forward through those parts.)
The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
This was an action/adventure movie with a twist about “maps” of people’s lives and angel-like characters who try to keep human beings on the route of their destiny. It was a little gimmicky and not that compelling of a story, I thought, but fine for what it was.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two (2011)
This was such a satisfying end to the series. I loved it.
Doubt (2008)
Intriguing film about a priest who may or may not have abused a young black boy at his parochial school. An older nun, played by Meryl Streep, has suspicions but no proof, and a younger nun, portrayed by Amy Adams, wants to believe the best in the face of reasons to doubt. There is one scene with the boy’s mother which earned that actress a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and at the awards ceremony they said she deserved her own movie…which she got in The Help! (Which I am eager to see on DVD.)
The Beaver (2011)
This was a strange movie. Mel Gibson plays a father who is depressed and about to lose his family and his company. He dons a beaver puppet on one hand which becomes his energized, non-depressed alter ego, and he will only relate to his family and employees through the puppet. Upset with his own dependency on the puppet, he cuts his hand off, and his depression is gone. It made sense to Papa Rooster as "a fable about idolatry and dependencies, even apparently therapeutic ones which seems to make us more useful to society but in the end are dangerous to our true selves. 'Better to cut off your hand than to lose your soul.' " But the kids and I just found it disturbing.
People Will Talk (1951)
This is a black-and-white Cary Grant movie that was pretty unremarkable and slow, we thought. But hey, it was streaming on Netflix.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
All six of our children love this movie and quote from it. Now I know why. A delightful kids' movie in the Pixar mold.
Shine (1996)
With aspiring musicians and actors in the house, we decided it was time to watch this with our teenagers. Amazing acting and an incredible true story about David Helfgott, a brilliant but neurotic piano prodigy.
Des Hommes et des Dieux (Of Gods and Men) (2010)
This was a beautiful true story about French monks in Algeria who decide to remain in their monastery and serve their community during the Algerian Civil War (1996) despite the personal sacrifice it eventually costs them. Subtitled and slow, but moving.
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
We watched this spoof after our boys played Merry Men onstage last spring. Not full of gay jokes, as you might think from the title, nor as bawdy as one might assume. I may not be remembering perfectly, but it seemed straight-up funny to me. And Robin Hood? He was played by Cary Elwes from Princess Bride ("As you wish")--all grown up and heroically humorous.
Soul Surfer (2011)
More well-done than I expected, still something lacking in the script and/or directing…but you couldn't help but appreciate the inspiring story.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Okay, I hear this is funnier if you’ve seen a lot of zombie movies, but it was my first, and I thought it was lame and disturbing. Blech!
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Just as funny as ever; more bad language than I remembered. But it’s a comedy classic.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert (2001 TV)
This dark musical is best appreciated as a morality tale about those who let their appetites (especially for revenge) control them. For our teens, this is like the musical equivalent of a horror movie; they love the 2007 Johnny Depp version. But this version—which is the full score and story acted out, but with minimal staging and props--is vocally amazing, they agreed. Sondheim’s brilliant score never sounded so incredible. Even without blood, it is intense. (Patti LuPone plays Mrs. Lovett, if you’re trying to look this one up.) Not for everyone!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sibling Revelry
 |
| Ten years apart |
 |
| Ten years apart |
 |
| (Snuggie advertisement) |
Best gift of all for Mom and Dad--kids who enjoy each other!
Monday, December 26, 2011
Best Christmas Gift
Well, it wasn't under the tree on Christmas morning, but my best gift, which I feel dizzy with relief and thankfulness for, is a new used car. It's almost exactly like my old one, which was totaled just a week before Christmas.
Yeah, it was a little worse than I realized when I wrote this post. So thankful for that airbag, which absorbed much of the shock to my body!
I dithered for a few hours about whether to look for the same car or something else. But all my carefully thought-out reasoning for buying a Prius 2.5 years ago was still valid, and the decision was clinched by my experience with it--I had absolutely loved driving it! To replace it, I would have to find the same model year or older for financial reasons, but low-mileage '02 Priuses are few and far between, I was told by many, and in '01 there were very few on the road. I couldn't even find '03's, '04's or '05's to consider. But amazingly, there was an '02 for sale about an hour away that sounded perfect. Papa Rooster and I set aside last Thursday to spend together for our anniversary, so in between lunch and dinner dates and picking up a settlement check, we bought a car.
On Facebook, when I posted about my accident and how devastated I was to lose my sweetheart car, a couple people said they were praying that my next car would be even better, or be more of a favorite. It reminded me of something God has shown me before: I remember long ago praying with a friend for her autistic son to not only not freak out when the organ started playing at a family wedding, but for him actually to be swept up in the music and enjoy it--and that's what happened! I had just been praying as the Holy Spirit led, but my friend told me later that she felt like it was an important prayer principle to follow--to pray for positive things to happen, not just negative things not to happen.
So I appreciated those prayers from my Facebook friends, and maybe it will turn out to be true. My new car isn't the color I was just delighted by every day, the bluish-purple of my old one. But it's a very nice silver, with more of a champagne cast to it than gray, and I like it. But even better, my new car has both a tape player and a CD player, while my old car only had a tape player. This means I can check out any audiobook in the library! What a gift! And little things that weren't operational in my old car--a broken rear cupholder, a broken door to the storage compartment in the dash, and a burnt-out passenger reading light--are all unbroken and functional in my new car. The interior is exactly the same color, so it seems like I'm in my old car when I'm driving. Best of all, my new car has only 75,000 miles on it; my old Prius had 99,584. Although we still had to chip in quite a bit to what the insurance company gave us--for our deductible, plus--it will undoubtedly be cheaper, over the next 75,000 miles, to maintain the lower mileage car. So maybe in the long run, it will be a wash, I'm hoping.
All in all, the best material Christmas/anniversary gift ever. So thankful to God. And Papa Rooster and I ended up having a delightful day together, even so!
And I am feeling much better. It's now nine days post-accident, and I'm only a little stiff and sore still. Although I took a lot of ibuprofen for the first week, I never felt bad enough to take the time to go to my chiropractor or doctor. It seemed like frequent stretching was what my body needed, and every day has brought improvement. The last two days, I've only needed ibuprofen when I first woke up.
I am so grateful for life and health and God's mercy on me and on my family. And soooooo happy about my new car.
Yeah, it was a little worse than I realized when I wrote this post. So thankful for that airbag, which absorbed much of the shock to my body!
I dithered for a few hours about whether to look for the same car or something else. But all my carefully thought-out reasoning for buying a Prius 2.5 years ago was still valid, and the decision was clinched by my experience with it--I had absolutely loved driving it! To replace it, I would have to find the same model year or older for financial reasons, but low-mileage '02 Priuses are few and far between, I was told by many, and in '01 there were very few on the road. I couldn't even find '03's, '04's or '05's to consider. But amazingly, there was an '02 for sale about an hour away that sounded perfect. Papa Rooster and I set aside last Thursday to spend together for our anniversary, so in between lunch and dinner dates and picking up a settlement check, we bought a car.
On Facebook, when I posted about my accident and how devastated I was to lose my sweetheart car, a couple people said they were praying that my next car would be even better, or be more of a favorite. It reminded me of something God has shown me before: I remember long ago praying with a friend for her autistic son to not only not freak out when the organ started playing at a family wedding, but for him actually to be swept up in the music and enjoy it--and that's what happened! I had just been praying as the Holy Spirit led, but my friend told me later that she felt like it was an important prayer principle to follow--to pray for positive things to happen, not just negative things not to happen.
So I appreciated those prayers from my Facebook friends, and maybe it will turn out to be true. My new car isn't the color I was just delighted by every day, the bluish-purple of my old one. But it's a very nice silver, with more of a champagne cast to it than gray, and I like it. But even better, my new car has both a tape player and a CD player, while my old car only had a tape player. This means I can check out any audiobook in the library! What a gift! And little things that weren't operational in my old car--a broken rear cupholder, a broken door to the storage compartment in the dash, and a burnt-out passenger reading light--are all unbroken and functional in my new car. The interior is exactly the same color, so it seems like I'm in my old car when I'm driving. Best of all, my new car has only 75,000 miles on it; my old Prius had 99,584. Although we still had to chip in quite a bit to what the insurance company gave us--for our deductible, plus--it will undoubtedly be cheaper, over the next 75,000 miles, to maintain the lower mileage car. So maybe in the long run, it will be a wash, I'm hoping.
All in all, the best material Christmas/anniversary gift ever. So thankful to God. And Papa Rooster and I ended up having a delightful day together, even so!
And I am feeling much better. It's now nine days post-accident, and I'm only a little stiff and sore still. Although I took a lot of ibuprofen for the first week, I never felt bad enough to take the time to go to my chiropractor or doctor. It seemed like frequent stretching was what my body needed, and every day has brought improvement. The last two days, I've only needed ibuprofen when I first woke up.
I am so grateful for life and health and God's mercy on me and on my family. And soooooo happy about my new car.
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